Dyeing your Sand PMAG from Magpul with Rit Dye colors: the ultimate guide

What do Rit Dye, Magpul, a sand PMAG (actually several PMAGs), and a writer with an artistic muse have in common? Read on and you’ll see.

In June of 2016, we posted a review of the Magpul Sand PMAG. In that article, I briefly went over the steps to dyeing a SAND PMAG using Rit Dye. During that test, I noticed some colors did not turn out the same as what the bottle says it is supposed to be. So I decided to try every color and have a comprehensive color chart. I would not try mixing dyes or dipping a PMAG in different dyes to get different colors.  I reached out to Rit Dye and they sent us 25 bottles of their most popular colors for testing. This meant I had to raid the Gunmag Warehouse (no pun intended) for 25 Sand PMAGs.

It’s very difficult to find PMAGs in that color these days, though not impossible. This article will apply mostly to those of you who still have some, are able to find some, or are interested in seeing what sort of results you get with a brown PMAG or one of our other mags available in FDE). Many of the latter are light enough that you might have some luck with it.

Note: this article was originally published on December 30, 2016. It remains a perennial favorite with the Mag Life reader community so we’ve updated and reposted it.

A good sample of the Rit Dye Color Chart as displayed on a selection of PMAGs.

After a few stops, I found a bread pan that is just the right size for the PMAG. This way I won’t need as much water. In order to stay consistent, I only used three capfuls of dye for every color. I used the same bent wire coat hanger to lower and raise the PMAGs into the dye. I decided to dip the PMAGs one minute at a time up to three minutes. Only a couple of colors went on to five minutes.

Below are the results of the dyeing.

Black turned out a very dark blue compared to the factory black 40rd PMAG to the right.

BLACK

PEARL GREY

GOLDEN YELLOW

This Sand PMAG from Magpul has been dyed “Golden Yellow” with Rit Dye. It’s not a “Banana Clip,” but it’s close.

SUNSHINE ORANGE

The bottles look different but they are the same color. Not sure why the yellower bottle says “NEW”.

Also in keeping with the fruity them: an orange dyed PMAG.

 HARVEST

 CAMEL

Yes, Camel. Much like those giant boxes of Crayons we had when were kids, the Rit Dye Color Chart has some interesting and very specific colors.

Not sure if this is Camelus bactrianus or Camelus ferus, but it’s certainly reminiscent of a mud hut (or FDE).

TAUPE

As you can see, taupe does not come out as you hope or expect.  In my previous attempt, it turned green on me.

Maybe more “bad apple green” than taupe.

APPLE GREEN

Speaking of apples.

DARK GREEN

You may already have a favorite Magpul Color, but might as well expand your options a bit. This one would look good with a woodland camo battle belt – assuming you care about sartorial matters in your tactical gear!

EMERALD

TEAL

KELLY GREEN

Unfortunately, Kelly Green is another color that does not turn out as you would expect.

This could actually be the odd green color from a 3rd world country military uniform.

AQUAMARINE

ENAMEL BLUE

NAVY BLUE

PURPLE

VIOLET

COCOA BROWN

With a little work and maybe just a bit of green, this might be something you could use to match the “Army Greens” gabardine color.

WINE

CHERRY RED

SCARLET

FLAME

FUCHSIA

PINK

As you can see in the photos above Taupe, Kelly Green, Pearl Gray and Black do not turn out as expected.

I hope this has been helpful. A Tutorial Video will be coming soon showing every color seen here and how each mag was dyed.

Nicholas Chen

Nicholas Chen is a firearm aficionado. Growing up in California, He learned about firearms and hunted with his father growing up in Southern California. Once he moved out to Pennsylvania and then spent a few years in New York State, he learned to truly appreciate firearms and the second amendment. It was in New York State where he became a USPSA competitive shooter and learned about 3Gun. He is an avid fan of running and gunning. Nicholas is a fan of pretty much anything that shoots although the slicked-up race guns are what interests him the most. Having spent time with FFLs and other friends with NFA items he has begun his collection of NFA items and has learned that everything should be suppressed and full auto where possible and legal.